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Quick Question: Is It Racist to Love Your Race?

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dadmonson

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23 hours ago, Dustin86 said:

Like I said at the beginning, it's clearly an is-ought issue. But the "is" wins out over the "ought", especially since your philosophy claims to be "Objective".

I definitely don't endorse hating other races, but Objectivism goes far beyond saying "don't hate other races", by saying don't love your race, nor your nationality, nor your tribe, nor your religion, etc., etc., etc. This isn't just "many people" who are "irrational" according to these criteria. This is the vast majority of people in the world. The fact of the matter is that people have very strong group identities, and have had, for all of human history. This is where Objectivism (and Liberalism, and Marxism, for that matter), really fails. Objectivism, especially if it pretends to be so "Objective", really needs to wake up and smell the facts here, not try to change the facts to fit itself.

Yes, my philosophy is objective. The reason why it's objective is because it rejects the line of reasoning that goes like this: "most people believe X, therefor X is rational".

My philosophy holds that what is and isn't rational isn't subject to a vote. What is and isn't rational is determined by the application of the rules of logic to the facts of reality. What the majority of people think is entirely irrelevant to what is rational.

It is not rational to have a group identity...especially not when that group identity is defined by something as irrelevant as skin color. I don't care if everyone does it, it's still irrational. The vast majority of people also believe in a magical being they made up, that is watching over them from Heaven. Again, just because the majority believe in some nonsense, doesn't mean it's rational. That's not what makes ideas rational or irrational.

Edited by Nicky
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22 hours ago, Dustin86 said:

Well, it's upward of 95% of people on the globe who love either their race, and/or their nationality, and/or their religion and/or some other kind of group identity that Objectivism considers "irrational". I'd say it can be called human nature for all practical purposes.

Ok, so you think Objectivism is wrong to consider nationalism and religion irrational, correct? Then what is irrational? Is any widely held belief irrational?

For instance, the majority of people in the Middle East believe that 9/11 was an inside job, perpetrated by Jews. Is that irrational, and if it is, why? In the Soviet Union, the vast majority of people believed in socialism. Was that irrational, and why?

What about religion? Is every religion rational, is every religion irrational, or are some rational and some irrational?

Edited by Nicky
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  • 6 months later...
On 7/4/2016 at 7:22 PM, dadmonson said:

Here is the general question...

Is it racist to love your race?  Are there racist ways to love your race and non-racist ways to love your race?

 

Below are more specific questions:

 

Is it racist to love your race because people from your race have higher IQs or are better at sports...  Is that racist?

 

How about in aesthetic issues...

Is it racist to like a black person's skin tone or a white person's eyes.  Is that racist? For instance, some white people might say,  "We white people are the best looking race because look at all the people of other races trying to copy the way we look!" I've heard similar statements by black people...    

Or what about the other side of the coin...  what about the people who dislike or hate the way they and other people of their race look?  Is it best in that case to downplay other race's features and tell them that their race's features are beautiful?   If you don't agree with downplaying the other race's features then what do you think would be the best action to take?   We often hear "black is beautiful" in the United States for this reason I think.  I remember back in school I heard they did a study with white and black dolls.  When young black girls had a choice to pick between a white or a black doll they always went with the white doll. 

 

If you can articulate why you said yes or no then that would be helpful also.

 

 

This topic is like a coin, it has to sides. On one side some of the comments used as examples are racist, then again some might be true. White people may prefer white people because of their skin color, eye color, hair color, hairstyle, etc. It depends the way the person says it, then again there is no correct way because nowadays people are offended by anything. You might say you don't support homosexuality but support the fact that they should have equal rights as everyone else. Some people may understand your point of view while others will say that you are supporting homosexuality because you are supporting the fact that homosexuals should have equal rights. 

On the other side of the coin, saying that you like your race may not be racist at all (for some people). It's like genders, males may say that they're glad they're males because they don't have to deal with menstruation, giving birth, menopause, and other natural stages that women go through. Same goes with races, Latins might say that their race is the best because they have a mixture from black people and white people, because they are great at dancing or making exotic dishes. In my opinion, it depends on the perspective and the way the people express themselves regarding their race.

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